Brandon Flowers of The Killers performs on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury music festival
In 2004, The Killers were an alt-rock band from Las Vegas hanging around the British indie circuit who scored a mid-afternoon slot on the New Bands Stage (now named the John Peel Stage) at Glastonbury. So when and how did they become one of the biggest, most spectacular rock shows on earth?
This was epic stuff from the Saturday night headliners. Fireworks, lightshow, rock anthems and a mesmerized crowd of around 100,000 screaming for more after an hour-and-a-half of singing every word. Who'd have thought a band from Vegas would know how to put on a show? Although they cite 1980's Brit bands like Duran Duran and New Order as influences, the Killers are at heart a muscular rock band. Frontman Brandon Flowers, though not particularly muscular, looks like a rock star in a 3-piece gold suit (can you get any more Vegas?). From behind a pulpit-like keyboard, he belts out the hits from the Killers two albums, "Hot Fuss" and "Sam's Town." "Smile Like You Mean It," "Glamorous Indie Rock And Roll," and "Mr. Brightside" are highlights, while Flowers a cappella version of Andy Williams "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" morphing into a cover of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" show they can change gear too. But it's the ecstatic response to set closer, "All These Things That I Have Done" that shows how far the Killers have come in three years and a couple of hundred yards.